Bagnaia tries to stay calm before his most important moment

The Italian Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia He could become the MotoGP world champion this weekend at the same circuit where he was declared the Moto2 world champion in 2018. He feels the pressure because he has two slabs on his shoulders: to give Ducati the second drivers’ title since 2007 (Casey Stoner) and Italy’s first title since 2009 since his mentor, friend and protector Valentino Rossi.

“Since 2009, no Italian has won the MotoGP title and since 2007 Ducati hasn’t won the riders’ title, plus the fact that it could be my first MotoGP title, the pressure is there, without a doubt , and I’m I’m starting to feel pressure. , but at the moment I’m quite calm, because I know that we’ve done something very well this season, but we still have to finish the job, finish the job and that’s it my focus now” , Bagnaia explained about his first battle -ball at the press conference of the candidates on Thursday’s Media Day in Sepang.

Bagnaia had by his side his sister Carola throughout the year, his personal assistant and the person responsible for that nickname Pecco -this is how Francesco pronounced the name Francesco when he was little-, and the others more of his family went to Kuala Lumpur, his parents Pietro and Stefania and their partner Domizia. Try to maintain the routine “I’m calm, I’m doing the same thing I usually do, I’m reading a book, I’m watching movies, I saw the 2019 sessions again, normal, living like a normal weekend. If I Want to be well I have to maintain concentration and be ready for any situation, if I think about what pressures me I can feel it, so I lived a normal life, my boyfriend and family came to accompany me and they will help me. much to be more peaceful.”

To say Malaysian GP is to mention how unpredictable its weather is, with the classic midday and early afternoon storms, its humidity and heat. “The main question here is the weather, because the forecast for Saturday and Sunday seems to be rainy, although it’s always very difficult to predict what the weather will be like here,” explained Pecco.

He says the experience of winning the Moto2 title at this circuit four years ago will help him a little. Then it’s his second chance at the title after losing the first a week before in Phillip Island and this time it’s the first: “It’s very different compared to 2018, because at that time it was very difficult, it’s my first title in that category, and now I’m more relaxed compared to 2018, although it’s something that will change tomorrow or on Sunday, because you start to have pressure on race day.”

And the title wants to tie it as soon as possible and does not think about adding a new zero: “It will be a disaster, all the work will be exhausted, at the level of the show there may be a strange, unusual situation. , but I worked a lot, I tried to be the best version of myself in the second half of the season and we worked hard to get to this level and I would rather not crash in this race.”

“If I want to perform well, I have to keep focusing on doing the work, on improving from the first free practices to the race and being ready for every situation, and if I start thinking about everything that causing pressure on me, will begin to feel it, for what I live in a normal way, as I usually do”, he clarified.

With his heroic comeback of 91 points from the Sachsenring he remembered thateu “a race that gave me a lot of motivation was Silverstone, because I struggled all weekend and I wasn’t competitive, but in the race I tried to be as competitive as possible thinking that I wouldn’t win, but right us in the choice of tires and I started to learn from others, to see what to do and I won, but the key was in Aragón, when I was second and Fabio (Quartararo) unfortunately crashed, because at that moment I won a lot of ‘free’ points, so to speak, because Fabio didn’t finish”.